Here's a quiet Central Oregon summit for those with a high clearance vehicle - or anyone that wants a bit of hiking as one could walk the rutted dirt road or even go directly cross-country to the summit (although direct would be a bit steep).
One of the nicest hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains, Waterman Mountain is certainly worthy of repeat SOTA Activations, and this was our third time in about 2 years. Being graced with a very reasonable access, well graded trail and magnificent specimens of Incense Cedar (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calocedrus ) and Ponderosa Pine (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_ponderosa ) it’s a wonderful and popular SOTA objective. The trail is 6 + miles RT, with 1,200 feet elevation gain. The summit area is lightly treed, but still has views if you search them out.
Treasure Mountain is a non-descript forested summit that is located south of Elliston, MT. Head south on the Little Blackfoot road (which leaves the highway east of Elliston) and trend left up Telegraph Creek 3.0 miles later when the road forks. Follow the Telegraph Creek Road SSE for 4.9 miles, and take the major turn to the right (westerly). Continue across Telegraph Creek, and follow the road 0.6 miles to where it intersects the Treasure Mountain Road. The Treasure Mtn. Road may be driven at least another 1.8 miles, except Oct.
An easy trip for visitors to the Coos Bay area. Directions:
Mi
0.0 From US-101, take Coos - Sumner Lane East
5.0 Continue through Sumner as name changes to Fairview-Sumner Lane
7.3 Continue left at Tee on Fairview-Sumner Lane
7.7 Left at fork onto paved USFS road 26-12-4.2
8.7 Stay on paved road
9.1 Stay on paved road
10.1 Right at fork onto gravel road
10.2 Right at fork onto USFS 26-12-35.1
Plan a clear day for this trip since the mountain views (St Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt Hood, Mt Rainier) are spectacular from the summit area. The views of the Mt St Helens north crater and blast zone are iconic. This hike should be on the "must do" list in order to gain insight into the blast and destruction caused by the 1980 eruption.
Chelan Crest SOTA Outing July 23-25, 2016 – Part 3. See separate report on PNWSOTA website with background on outing and day 1 description. The total trip was approximately 25 miles RT, with approximately 7,000 feet elevation gain, including ups and downs in between the various peaks. This is report 3 of 4, "Olivia Mountain". On maps, this summit is shown as Point 7,492 (feet), lying about 1.06 miles SE of the Big Boy of the neighborhood - Pyramid Mountain. I suspect "Olivia Mountain" is the SOTA name for the peak. We Activated "Olivia Mountain" on the same day as Graham Mountain.
First SOTA Activation of Fourth Of July Mountain, a 4 point SOTA summit above the town of Manson, Washington, was accomplished on Saturday, September 10, 2016. On a weekend trip to visit with our friends who have a vacation home in Manson, we took some time to Activate this peak. The overall terrain is quite dry and arid, especially this late in summer. The trail itself is non-descript, and the redeeming aspect of the activation are the great views from the upper slopes and summit of the mountain. The weather was quite warm, and we were happy to have gotten a relatively early start.
Mount Bailey near Diamond Lake is a great hike to fantastic views but it requires some effort to get those views - with a hike of about 10 miles round trip
There's enough room to pull a vehicle off to the side by the gate on Heimer road. This is an easy trek with a very gradual elevation change. The trail is a nice groomed gravel road that leads all the way to the summit.
If you keep veering right at all the forks in the road, evenutally you will end up at the summit on a nice wide gravel plot perfect for setting up a decent station. Not a whole lot of shade to be had here, unless you climb off the path.
Here's another summit in the Diamond Lake area to activate if you have a few hours. It's a drive-up, if your vehicle has moderate ground clearance and otherwise a short road hike.